It’s a coming-into-(her own)-power story about a young girl who takes on an authoritarian government. The story is full of good friends, tight-knit families, love-sweet-love and not one but two boys, also fashion, protest, stolen kisses, and a pretty awesome chase scene. There’s definitely that moment where you wonder, What Can Happen Next? Did I mention parties? Rock stars? Truck drivers and Old Endearing Farmers? As in most of my books there’s a bit of surfing and a dash of wishful thinking. Also, the government is definitely poisoning the water system, so really something must be done. And lastly don’t forget the cat named Walden. He kind of saves the day around the middle of our story. (It gets worse again.)

There’s drama, excitement, plans are made, some fail, some succeed, but in the end, nothing can be done but the only thing that’s left.

I think you will love it and here’s a small taste:

“This is how Cj explained it.” William swept his arm toward the woods. “We have a tree, that’s our culture and our government, our hierarchy of power. The branches and leaves are the parts that show, our fashion and designs, like our water system and medicines and our sky projectors and all the other things.”

We walked closer to the tree and looked up into the branches.

He said, “In all of that, we—you and me and everyone else—we’re the roots. Now, some of us, we see the leaves are not right, they need to be changed. So we’re trying to change them but there’s this whole system between us and the change. It’s standing in the way, but the leaves are flashy and sparkly and we’ve focused all our attention on them.”

“Like we’re trying to fix the water system, but not doing anything about the disappearances.”

“Exactly. You originally wanted to turn off the sky projectors. To do that you built a farm and then you had to fight for the right to farm. Along the way you had to fight for the right to publish. To not be imprisoned. We’ve been fighting over all these individual leaves for a long time.”

I said, “We need to deal with the trunk.”

“That’s where the power is.”

I laughed. “That will be easy.”

William said, “Chainsaw.”

I said, “Is that what cuts trees? I wouldn’t know, I’ve lived as a root my whole life.”

William threw his arm around me and hugged me close as we walked. “Did I tell you today how much I love you?”

if you wanted Estelle to be a Strong Female character (and by that you don’t mean that she can kill people with her bare hands, or leap buildings with a single bound, or never miss with her aim, but prefer your strong females to be ordinary and normal yet able to accomplish amazing things) she is. She definitely is.

This book wasn’t easy to write. I was nervous. I wanted to know where Estelle went next, what she dreamed of, who she dreamed with, and yes, does she get to keep kissing the hunky William, but I was worried I might break the story, get bogged down, or I don’t know—blow it.

I’m happy to say that the first reviews are in and I didn’t.

I decided that book two would be a big adventure and a rescue. Estelle of course would be the heroine, but she needed a side-kick, so I chose Angela (you met her very briefly in book one.) So Beyond is two girls on an adventure. Hopefully that doesn’t spoil the story too much.

“I had greatly enjoyed reading Bright but I didn’t have such a visceral reaction as I did when reading Beyond. I can tell when a book is good when I get stressed out and anxious while reading (that’s a good thing) and I can’t put it down to go to sleep because I’ll end up tossing and turning thinking about it instead. By the end of this book I practically had no nails left!” – J.B. Fox

The kindle version will be free from October 14th-October 18th, 2015. I’ll remind you. But if you want to get the paperback version, here it is:

Estelle must summon the courage to head into the Beyonds, with nothing but a phone, a pillowcase, and barely a plan, and risk everything to save someone she loves.

Thank you. I’m writing the third of the series now. And moments away from releasing a romance, Violet’s Mountain.

Estelle and William, speaking in Beyond (Book Two of The Estelle Series):

“I hate talking at these things. The low-key ones are bad enough but with all this hoopla, yes, I’m nervous.” I took a deep breath and pulled at the middle of my dress to get more air in. An action that was futile.

“You’re getting better and better at speaking in public, but it hardly matters. You could stand and say turkey, turkey, turkey, and the citizens of New City would applaud and say yours was the best speech ever.”

“Aren’t we trying to win them over to our point of view?”

“True.”

William sat up straighter and turned his head and stared at me, stared so much that I grew self-conscious and then gulped and giggled. “What? Do I have something in my teeth?”

“You are absolutely beautiful. I know it doesn’t matter to you, you hardly care, but seeing you like this takes my breath away.”

“Oh,” I said, not at all capable of a response.

He took my hand in his. “You always looked like this before, when you were just a New City girl, or if not this exactly, put together, dressed, done up. You were pretty, don’t get me wrong, but you looked just like everyone else. Put together in all the same ways. Normal and the same. Now you wear your farm look, and you’re pretty then too, but this—tonight—wow.”

“Stop William, You’re making me blush.” I batted my eyes because I liked to be complimented. I remembered once, what seemed like forever ago, when I departed the farm in a dress and William hadn’t even noticed me or didn’t mention it if he did. This little speech made up for that. Definitely.

William said, “Sure. I know. I think I’m just trying to prolong some alone time with you, but I was thinking…” He paused, his familiar pause, the one where the gears turned, the one just before he said something that would end up in his writing someday. “All those days of sameness makes this night, you even more spectacular. Because it’s different. You’re different. I feel sorry for the residents out there, with their fancy clothes and their big hair. How can they get excited about all this, when they see a version of it every single day? It made me think that one of the biggest problems with New City is really a problem of sameness.

“Ever the philosopher.”

“Okay, I’m off track. I want to kiss you, but I won’t be held responsible for mussing your display.” He motioned about my face. “Suffice it to say, I want to.”

Have you nominated my book for publishing yet?

It hasn’t been in Hot and Trending all day, I’m dyin’ over here. And tell a friend!